Distance
by WinterSky101
Summary: A WtNV fic. Carlos listens to Cecil's show out in the Desert Otherworld and hates how helpless he is when he's so far away. Tag for episode 60 (Water Failure).


**I wrote this after episode 60, then promptly forgot about it until now. Isn't it amazing what I can find in my computer when I decide to clean up my folders?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own WtNV.**

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Carlos was _so_ glad he'd gotten his makeshift radio to pick up Cecil's show while he was in the Desert Otherworld. It wasn't always the clearest reception, and considering how time worked (or failed to work) in Night Vale, Carlos would occasionally hear the show out of order, but at least it was something. There were a few times he would call Cecil only to find he was doing the show at that moment, although Carlos often wouldn't hear it until a few days had passed for him. Once, he heard himself on the show and went through that conversation with Cecil two weeks later. Time was strange, even when it did work properly, and when it was as convoluted as it could be in Night Vale, it was exponentially more confusing.

Every night, Carlos would settle down with his little radio, a ways away from the masked army, and listen to the show. No one ever disturbed him while he did, unless it was an emergency. Sometimes, he thought he could sense Doug and Alesha's eyes on him, but he ignored them; Cecil's show was a time for Carlos to forget he was in a Desert Otherworld so far away from his home and pretend he was back in Night Vale, waiting for Cecil to come back from the radio station.

 _God_ , he missed Cecil so much.

The show that night began with Cecil complaining about a lack of water in the station. Carlos couldn't help but grin; Cecil without coffee was not a pretty sight.

Then Carlos almost dropped his radio, because what the _hell_? Two suns?

Yes, Cecil confirmed, two suns. Carlos was surprised, but he was more surprised at how unsurprised he was, if that made any sense. It was Night Vale, after all. Stranger things had happened.

Had Cecil honestly never heard of Michigan? Carlos grinned fondly and shook his head. About a week before, he'd heard an episode of the show in which Cecil had claimed he didn't know what it was because he wasn't a big sports fan. Then again, Cecil thought that Svitz and Franchia and Luftnarp were real places, so Carlos wasn't sure if geography was real in Night Vale. Time certainly wasn't, and if time and space were the same thing, then it would stand to reason that space was also changed.

Carlos had also never heard of a sports team losing to themselves in the finals, so perhaps this wasn't the Michigan he was familiar with. Or, alternatively, Night Vale weirdness could spread.

 _Hypothesis,_ Carlos thought to himself as Cecil went on about Michael Sandero, whom Carlos had never met. _The strangeness in Night Vale is contagious, and thus, when people from Night Vale leave the town, they bring the strangeness with them._ It was one of the strangest hypotheses Carlos had ever come up with - which might be proof it was right, because he seemed to have caught Night Vale's strangeness himself - but it made sense in its own way.

Then Carlos heard his name mentioned on air and abruptly turned his attention back to the radio. Cecil was planning to get vacation days to visit him, if possible... And if Carlos had known what he'd have to do to get those vacation days - Station Management was _not_ a force to be trifled with, he'd learned - perhaps he wouldn't have suggested it. And then Station Management began growling and Carlos balled up his lab coat in his fists because he couldn't _do_ anything and Cecil changed the subject and the growling stopped.

The debacle with the lack of water in the radio station continued, and now there were apparently _four_ suns. People seemed to be freaking out - and, to be fair, if Carlos had been there, he probably would have freaked out too. Although Cecil did have a point, Carlos supposed; four suns was better than no sun. Although he wasn't quite sure what Cecil meant about days with no sun being the worst, because he was pretty sure there weren't days with no sun.

Then again, this _was_ Night Vale.

Carlos only half focused on the message from the sponsor and lost the connection halfway through the discussion of Channel 6 News. He managed to very scientifically restore the connection by slapping the side of the radio until it worked properly, just in time to hear Cecil go back to the discussion of the smell in the station. Carlos couldn't help by grin slightly at the thought of the entire station craving French toast.

 _"Plus,"_ Cecil added, as if it were no big deal, _"we're all getting woozy and starting to lose our senses of sight, touch, and longing."_ Carlos stared at the radio, panic beginning to build in his chest, as it relayed the call to the water department.

"All hail," he muttered absently as the voice on the phone went through the options. He thought he heard something about the illuminati before it cut off.

And, apparently, Cecil had his doubts about the existence of water. Carlos sighed, a slight smile on his face. First mountains, and now water? What would his boyfriend stop believing in next?

The operator mentioned something about poisonous gases, but Carlos wasn't _that_ worried. It couldn't be, right?

Oh God, it totally could be.

Carlos was pretty sure his heart was beating ten times faster than it should have when Cecil said he was feeling lightheaded. The thud nearly made his heart stop.

"Cecil!" Carlos cried out involuntarily. Music began playing over the radio, but Carlos didn't listen. Goddamn it, Cecil was _unconscious_ in a room full of _potentially poisonous gases_ and there was nothing Carlos could do. Nothing at all. He was so _helpless_.

"Carlos?" a tentative voice asked. Carlos turned to see Doug and Alesha behind him, looking worried. "Carlos?" Doug repeated. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Carlos replied shortly. Alesha sat down at his side.

"What's wrong?" they asked quietly. Carlos let out a harsh laugh.

"Cecil is potentially dying, and I don't even know if it's happening now or if it's already happened or if it hasn't happened yet at all because time is so _screwed up_ in Night Vale, and there's nothing I can do."

"He has survived many things," Doug said comfortingly, sitting at Carlos' other side. "I'm sure your Cecil will be alright."

"I'm certain of it," Alesha murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Carlos' cheek as Doug did the same on the other side. The couple seemed to have almost adopted Carlos, it sometimes seemed to him, but it was nice to have someone watching out for him.

Doug and Alesha both left as soon as the music cut off, knowing that Carlos wanted to be alone during the show. He listened to the perky voice of the customer service official and waited with bated breath for Cecil to say something - _anything_ \- in return.

And then he did, and even though he sounded groggy at least he was _alive_ , and Carlos let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding in relief.

Carlos listened to Lacy's explanation, a mix of shock and anger rushing through him. Carbon monoxide. The pipes were releasing goddamn _carbon monoxide_. When Carlos got back to Night Vale, he was going to find whoever had the _stupid_ idea of using that as a punishment and punch them in the face.

Carlos couldn't even find it in himself to feel that curious about Lacy's mysterious message. As he listened to Cecil sign off - he'd nearly forgotten about the extra suns, but it was good to know they'd been dealt with...sort of - he closed his eyes and pretended he was in Night Vale, sitting in their house, waiting for Cecil to get back from doing the show. He would throw his arms around Cecil's neck and whisper "I was so worried," and Cecil would play it off and ask about science, and Carlos would give him a watered-down explanation of what he'd done that day, and then they would sit down and eat dinner and then maybe curl up on the couch and watch TV. They would be together, and as Carlos heard Cecil finish the show in his customary way, he found that, at some point, he had started crying.

Carlos reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, fumbling with it as he punched in Cecil's number. He waited with bated breath as it rang.

 _"Carlos!"_ Cecil cried as he picked up. _"My beautiful Carlos. Have you found a door?"_

"Uh, no," Carlos replied, feeling abruptly guilty. "I've been looking, but I haven't found any. I actually just listened to your show."

 _"I'm in the middle of a show right now,"_ Cecil replied, sounding confused. _"I just put on the weather."_

"Oh. Right, well, time doesn't always work right, so... Multiple suns?" Carlos really hoped that little detail didn't change the course of history or something.

 _"Oh, that was two days ago,"_ Cecil replied, comprehension in his voice. _"Yeah, the multiple suns were bad. But Carlos, we had no water in the station! I couldn't make coffee!"_

"I heard," Carlos replied fondly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, with the whole carbon monoxide thing."

 _"Oh, we're all fine,"_ Cecil replied dismissively. _"I mean, Intern Wasim has fallen into a coma and doesn't seem to be showing much evidence of higher brain functions, but other than that, we're okay."_

"I miss you," Carlos whispered.

 _"I miss you too,"_ Cecil murmured back. Carlos heard something click. _"The weather just ended, but I put on a pre-recorded statement so we have a bit more time."_

"I should go. I don't want to keep you from your work," Carlos replied. "I'll keep looking for a door, I promise."

 _"Please come home,"_ Cecil whispered. Carlos smiled slightly.

"Bye, Cecil." He hung up the phone, knowing that Cecil never would if he left it to him, and tucked it back in his pocket. He picked up his radio and stood, going back over to the larger encampment of the masked army. Alesha looked up at him as he passed.

"Is Cecil alright?" they asked. Carlos nodded.

"He's fine," he replied. "Can we go looking for doors tomorrow?"

"Of course we can," Doug replied. Carlos hadn't seen him, but wherever Alesha was, Doug wasn't far behind. "I'm sure you'll find a way to return to Night Vale."

"Goodnight," Carlos murmured as he went over to his backpack, balled up his lab coat as a pillow, and lay down.

He wanted to get back to Cecil more than ever, and he swore to any god that was listening that he would figure it out.


End file.
